Thirteen standouts from Southern Arizona playing in bowls this season

Plenty to be proud about for Tucsonans despite the Arizona Wildcats not playing in a bowl for the first time since 2011.

Southern Arizona high schools have produced 13 players who are on rosters of bowl teams this season.

Two of them are on Air Force’s roster — senior slot receiver Tyler Williams of Ironwood Ridge and freshman linebacker Jake Ksiazek of Salpointe. Ksiazek is redshirting. Williams played a key part in the 45-21 win over South Alabama on Dec. 30 in the Arizona Bowl at Arizona Stadium.

Air Force slot receiver Tyler Williams dives for a touchdown in the second half of last night’s Arizona Bowl (Aaron Repath/Special to AllSportsTucson.com)

Williams matched his previous season catch total with three for 66 yards in the Arizona Bowl win over South Alabama. He ran for 42 yards on eight carries and scored a touchdown by diving over the pylon.

The following is a recap for some from the Tucson-area who have already played in a bowl this month and a preview for those still preparing for one:

Daniel Gonzales, LB, 6-2, 240, Sr., Cienega, Navy

Did not play. Co-captain of team out for the season four games into the schedule because of a foot injury.

Daniel Gonzales’ college football career was cut short earlier this season with a foot injury (WJLA screen shot)

Dylan Greenberg, OL, 6-2, 302, Jr., Salpointe, Kentucky

TAXSLAYER BOWL VS. GEORGIA TECH, DEC. 31

Transferred from Youngstown State after redshirting there in 2013. He sat out the 2014 season with Kentucky. He started practiced with the Wildcats last season but hasn’t seen action yet this season after earning a scholarship during fall camp. He will forego his senior season after earning his bachelors degree in finance earlier this month.

Sidney Malauulu, NT, 6-3, 301, Soph., Buena, Wyoming

POINSETTIA BOWL VS. BYU: Cowboys lost 24-21 on Dec. 21

Malauulu had four solo tackles in the loss to BYU. Didn’t start this season after starting six times in 2015 but contributed 16 tackles, two for loss. Malauulu played his senior year at Buena after moving to Sierra Vista before that season after his father was relocated there after being stationed in South Korea. No relation to former Arizona QB George Malauulu, Sidney was selected All-Southern Arizona by TucsonCitizen.com in 2013.

Andrew Mike, OL, 6-6, 301, Soph., Sabino, Florida

OUTBACK BOWL VS. IOWA, JAN. 2

Made news flipping commitment to Vanderbilt, signing with Florida instead in 2014. Redshirted as freshman in 2014. Played in four games in 2015 and was selected to SEC Academic Honor Roll. Not listed in Florida’s two-deep for the Outback Bowl.

Christian Poe, WR, 6-3, 190, Soph., Cienega, Army

HEART OF DALLAS BOWL VS. NORTH TEXAS: Black Knights won 38-31 in OT on Dec. 27

Did not record a reception in the game. Reserve receiver who backed up older brother Edgar with Army. Had 10 receptions for 131 yards this season without catching a touchdown pass. Played in six games this season, highlighted by three receptions for 49 yards against Duke on Oct. 8.

Christian Poe played a year a football for the United States Military Academy Prep School after graduating from Cienega in 2014 (Army photo)

Edgar Poe, WR, 6-4, 216, Sr., Cienega, Army

HEART OF DALLAS BOWL VS. NORTH TEXAS: Black Knights won 38-31 in OT on Dec. 27

Senior starting receiver who hauled in a critical first down pass of 15 yards on a third-and-8 situation in overtime against North Texas. That was his lone catch of the game as Army runs a run-oriented option offense. He finished the season with 16 receptions for 336 yards and three touchdowns. Had four receptions for a season-high 122 yards against Wake Forest.

Edgar Poe is a standout senior receiver for Army who has 42 catches for 967 yards and 11 touchdowns in his career (Army photo)

Antonio Rosales, OL, 6-4, 295, Jr., Tucson Magnet, San Diego State

LAS VEGAS BOWL VS. HOUSTON: Aztecs won 34-10 on Dec. 17

Starting right guard for San Diego State who blocked for prolific running back Donnel Pumphrey. Redshirted as a freshman in 2013 after graduating from Tucson. Did not play in 2014. He started all 14 games this season after playing in six last year as a reserve.

Three years into his San Diego State career, Antonio Rosales finally became a starter, starting all 14 games this season (San Diego State photo)

Markell Simmons, S, 6-1, 200, Soph., Tucson Magnet/Pima CC, TCU

LIBERTY BOWL VS. GEORGIA: Horned Frogs lost 31-23 on Dec. 30

Came off the bench and contributed assisted tackle against Georgia. Ranked as the No. 4 junior college cornerback and No. 40 overall JUCO player by 247Sports.com with Pima last year. Chose TCU over Nebraska last year. Tallied six tackles in 10 games in limited duty as a backup safety with the Horned Frogs this season.

Jeremy Timpf, LB, 6-1, 230, Sr., Sabino, Army

HEART OF DALLAS BOWL VS. NORTH TEXAS: Black Knights won 38-31 in OT on Dec. 27

Huge contributor on defense for Army’s victory over North Texas, posting a game-high 15 tackles, including three for loss, two of them coming at crucial times. Played three years at Army after a playing season with the United States Military Academy Prep School as a freshman. Has played in all 27 games with Army and has served as the co-captain of the team the last two seasons. Produced 13 tackles for loss this year.

Jeremy Timpf has 29.5 tackles for loss in his Army career

Levi Wallace, DB, 6-0, 170, Jr., Tucson Magnet, Alabama

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF SEMIFINAL VS. WASHINGTON, DEC. 31

A former walk-on who was awarded a scholarship during fall camp. Entered off the bench in the Tide’s secondary in the SEC title game against Florida. Recorded one tackle and his first career quarterback hurry against the Gators. Has 11 tackles and two passes broken up in nine games that he played this season.

Tyler Williams, WR, 5-10, 185, Jr., Ironwood Ridge, Air Force

ARIZONA BOWL VS. SOUTH ALABAMA: The Falcons won 45-21 on Dec. 30

Rushed eight times for 42 yards and caught three passes for 66 yards against South Alabama. Senior slot receiver for Air Force after he was a dual-threat QB for Ironwood Ridge. For the season, he rushed 49 times for 270 yards out of the slot in Air Force’s triple-option offense with six receptions for 136 yards.

ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.